≡ PDF A Matter of Fate Fate Series 1 Heather Lyons 9780985865337 Books

A Matter of Fate Fate Series 1 Heather Lyons 9780985865337 Books

Download As PDF : A Matter of Fate Fate Series 1 Heather Lyons 9780985865337 Books

A Matter of Fate Fate Series 1 Heather Lyons 9780985865337 Books

Firstly let me start off by saying that because I adored (to pieces) Lyons novel The Deep End of the Sea I decided to check out her other works. The "Fates" series, which is currently at 3 books and 1 side story long (with another novel and another side story planned), appealed to me because of the notion of "fate" and "destiny".

In some ways much of what I enjoyed in DEEP END were in this book--a romance that didn't make me feel as if it was shallow, secondary characters that were interesting and a resourceful(ish) girl trying to take back her life. And the world itself was intriguing.

Where the book failed for me however was the character execution. Chloe, Cora, Lizzie, Kellan, Jonah, Karl...I can see what Lyons wanted to achieve with them (individually and together), but at times they came off as too much caricature. For instance when Karl first meets Cora and Chloe, and is explaining his mission, Cora is constantly interrupting, correcting and badgering him until he grows so frustrated he yells. Chloe rationalizes this by saying that Cora is just being protective, and its true Cora is coming off as protective of Chloe's sensitivities...but it makes Cora look bad.

Instead of seeming like she's trying to get Karl to understand that Chloe is not just some future asset to protect, but a living breathing girl who at the moment needs to be related to as a person, she comes across as seeming as petty, bratty and obnoxious. And Chloe often came across as a bit bipolar. She'd lash out at her friends' legitimate concerns about her behavior then grow frustrated when they refused to help her.

My main problems though lay in the romance. And this is all spoiler talk so avoid like the next paragraph if you haven't read:

[start](view spoiler)[end]

I'll give Jonah and Kellan credit though, the two of them do their damnedest to work through their problems once they're out there and don't play the victim blaming s*** on each other or Chloe (unlike everyone else in Chloe's life pretty much). It hurts, they hate it, but they understand its not something any of them can change so they just have to work through it.

This book also felt very very long--which according to GR its 550 pages o.o dear lord I've read epic fantasies that are shorter that's a lie...kind of. I read this on my Kindle so I didn't see the page count that way, but that's really long for a story that probably could have been at least 200pgs shorter (to be fair it looks like the next two books grow shorter and shorter).

In all honesty I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. I'm not particularly fond of any of the characters and I don't want Chloe with EITHER of the love interests. Want to defy fate? End up being a super badass Creator without romance. Or end up with both of them.


Tags : A Matter of Fate (Fate Series 1) [Heather Lyons] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <span>Chloe Lilywhite struggles with all the normal problems of a typical seventeen-year-old high school student. Only,Heather Lyons,A Matter of Fate (Fate Series 1),Cerulean Books,0985865334,JUVENILE FICTION Love & Romance

A Matter of Fate Fate Series 1 Heather Lyons 9780985865337 Books Reviews

For an extended review of this book and more, please visit http//fortheloveoftheread.blogspot.com

I wanted to love this book. As a fan of YA paranormal, this one sounded right up my alley. But something about it just didn't work for me.

I think part of the problem is that there was too much going on. The author had a good idea for Annar and did good society building, but it was almost overshadowed by the love triangle that was being forced on the reader. There were a lot of characters who had different abilities and served different purposes, and it was just a lot of information thrown up front.

The love triangle definitely didn't work for me. I was uncomfortable with Chloe switching off between twin brothers, trading one in for the other at her whim. The brothers also seemed relatively unbothered as they kept forgiving her each time. I also wish the author had done more to develop her relationship with either brother instead of just saying it was fated. I think making the relationship something out of the characters' control and putting it on Fate was a bit lazy and meant she didn't have to work too hard to develop anything.

As I mentioned above, I do think there's potential for Annar and the society that the author was building. The different abilities were all interesting to me and there's something about the battle of good and evil that works for me every time I read it. Chloe's powers start to develop more towards the end of the book, setting up more of her capabilities for the rest of the series.

Overall, I felt like this book was so-so. It was fine. The characters weren't great and the story was just okay, but I think there's a lot of potential here. I'm on the fence about reading the next one. If paranormal YA is a favored genre, then go ahead and pick this one up.
Oh, where to start with this book. There may be some spoilers here, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum. This book is basically about a girl (Chloe) who loves 2 boys (Jonah and Kellan), who by the way are twins. Oh, and they are Magical and are her Connections. And that's really all the book is about. It's teenage angst at it's fullest. Seriously, that's what the entire book is about, 500+ pages of who she loves, who she should be with, jealousy, overreactions, and crying...oh so much crying. I'm surprised Chloe didn't shrivel up from all the tears. Chloe is just not likeable and you begin to hope that neither of the boys end up with her.

The writing lost me a few times, mostly when the author would start a scene and then just end it. The reader knows there's more, but the author just gives you hints to what it was in later scenes. Descriptions of places tend to go missing in spots. The secondary characters for the most part fall flat. There are only a few that Ms. Lyons actually gives dimension to, and they are the best part of the book. Karl, her bodyguard, Caleb, her fairy conscience, and Cora, her cousin (who I cheered on when she went off on Chloe for being a selfish bitch). Others like Meg, Alex and Lizzie are barely given any depth and just seemed to be thrown in to move a certain plot point along. There's a subplot in this book about evil killing the Magicals. Those action scenes helped move the story along, I just wish that it had been the main plot. The story would've been much better for it.

By the end of the book it finally seems like everything is worked out with who she loves, so hoping that the second book would finally get to the whole "evil Elders are killing" part of the story, I bought said second book. But sadly no, 14% into A Matter of Heart, the teenage angst of who she loves starts right up again. I just can't bring myself to care.
Firstly let me start off by saying that because I adored (to pieces) Lyons novel The Deep End of the Sea I decided to check out her other works. The "Fates" series, which is currently at 3 books and 1 side story long (with another novel and another side story planned), appealed to me because of the notion of "fate" and "destiny".

In some ways much of what I enjoyed in DEEP END were in this book--a romance that didn't make me feel as if it was shallow, secondary characters that were interesting and a resourceful(ish) girl trying to take back her life. And the world itself was intriguing.

Where the book failed for me however was the character execution. Chloe, Cora, Lizzie, Kellan, Jonah, Karl...I can see what Lyons wanted to achieve with them (individually and together), but at times they came off as too much caricature. For instance when Karl first meets Cora and Chloe, and is explaining his mission, Cora is constantly interrupting, correcting and badgering him until he grows so frustrated he yells. Chloe rationalizes this by saying that Cora is just being protective, and its true Cora is coming off as protective of Chloe's sensitivities...but it makes Cora look bad.

Instead of seeming like she's trying to get Karl to understand that Chloe is not just some future asset to protect, but a living breathing girl who at the moment needs to be related to as a person, she comes across as seeming as petty, bratty and obnoxious. And Chloe often came across as a bit bipolar. She'd lash out at her friends' legitimate concerns about her behavior then grow frustrated when they refused to help her.

My main problems though lay in the romance. And this is all spoiler talk so avoid like the next paragraph if you haven't read

[start](view spoiler)[end]

I'll give Jonah and Kellan credit though, the two of them do their damnedest to work through their problems once they're out there and don't play the victim blaming s*** on each other or Chloe (unlike everyone else in Chloe's life pretty much). It hurts, they hate it, but they understand its not something any of them can change so they just have to work through it.

This book also felt very very long--which according to GR its 550 pages o.o dear lord I've read epic fantasies that are shorter that's a lie...kind of. I read this on my so I didn't see the page count that way, but that's really long for a story that probably could have been at least 200pgs shorter (to be fair it looks like the next two books grow shorter and shorter).

In all honesty I'm not sure if I'll continue with this series. I'm not particularly fond of any of the characters and I don't want Chloe with EITHER of the love interests. Want to defy fate? End up being a super badass Creator without romance. Or end up with both of them.